2018 Awards for Youth Literature
The Newbery Medal will be awarded to Merci Suárez Changes Gears, written by Meg Medina (Candlewick). Two Newbery Honor Books were also named: The Night Diary, written by Veera Hiranandani (Dial), and The Book of Boy, written by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, illustrated by Ian Schoenherr (Greenwillow).
The Caldecott Medal will be awarded to Hello Lighthouse, illustrated and written by Sophie Blackall (Little). Four Caldecott Honor Books were also named: Alma and How She Got Her Name, illustrated and written by Juana Martinez-Neal (Candlewick); A Big Mooncake for Little Star, illustrated and written by Grace Lin (Little); The Rough Patch, illustrated and written by Brian Lies (Greenwillow); and Thank You, Omu!, illustrated and written by Oge Mora (Little).
The Coretta Scott King Book Award for writing goes to Claire Hartfield’s A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 (Clarion). Three King Author Honor Books were selected: Finding Langston, by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Holiday House); The Parker Inheritance, by Varian Johnson (Levine/Scholastic); and The Season of Styx Malone, by Kekla Magoon (Lamb).
The Coretta Scott King Book Award for illustration goes to Ekua Holmes for The Stuff of Stars, written by Marion Dane Bauer (Candlewick). Three King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: Hidden Figures, illustrated by Laura Freeman, written by Margot Lee Shetterly (Harper); Let the Children March, illustrated by Frank Morrison and written by Monica Clark-Robinson (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); and Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Alice Faye Duncan (Calkins Creek).
The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award goes to Tiffany D. Jackson for Monday’s Not Coming (Tegen/HarperCollins).
The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award goes to Oge Mora for Thank You, Omu!, written and illustrated by Oge Mora (Little).
Dr. Pauletta Brown Bracy is the winner of the Coretta Scott King—Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement.
The Pura Belpré Award for illustration goes to Yuyi Morales for Dreamers, written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Porter/Holiday House). Two Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were named: Islandborn, illustrated by Leo Espinosa, written by Junot Díaz (Dial); and When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana, illustrated by Jose Ramirez, written by Michael Mahin (Atheneum)
The Pura Belpré Award for writing goes to Elizabeth Acevedo for The Poet X (HarperTeen). One Belpré Author Honor Book was named: They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems, by David Bowles (Cinco Puntos).
The American publisher receiving the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding translation of a book originally published in a foreign language is Thames & Hudson, Inc. for The Fox on the Swing, translated from the Lithuanian by The Translation Bureau, written by Evelina Daciu¯te˙, and illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaite˙. Four Batchelder Honor Books were also selected: Run for Your Life, written by Silvana Gandolfi and translated from the Italian by Lynne Sharon Schwartz (Yonder/Restless); My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, written and illustrated by Nie Jun, originally published in Mandarin and translated from the French by Edward Gauvin (Graphic Universe/Lerner); Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure, written and illustrated by Torben Kuhlmann and translated from the German by David Henry Wilson (NorthSouth); and Jerome by Heart, written by Thomas Scotto, illustrated by Olivier Tallec and translated from the French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick and Karin Snelson (Enchanted Lion).
The Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults goes to Elizabeth Acevedo for The Poet X (HarperTeen). Three Printz Honor Books were also named: Damsel, by Elana K. Arnold (Balzer + Bray); A Heart in a Body in the World, by Deb Caletti (Simon Pulse); Scythe, by Neal Shusterman (Simon); and I, Claudia, by Mary McCoy (Carolrhoda Lab).
The Robert F. Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book for children goes to The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science, written by Joyce Sidman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Five Sibert Honor Books were named: Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild, written by Catherine Thimmesh (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America, by Gail Jarrow (Calkins Creek); The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees, written and illustrated by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, written by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Frané Lessac (Charlesbridge); and When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana, written by Michael Mahin and illustrated by Jose Ramirez (Atheneum).
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for most distinguished beginning reader book goes to Fox the Tiger, written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor (Balzer + Bray). Four Geisel Honor Books were named: The Adventures of Otto: See Pip Flap, written and illustrated by David Milgrim (Simon Spotlight); Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories, written and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier (Chronicle); King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth, written by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers (Peachtree); and Tiger vs. Nightmare, written and illustrated by Emily Tetri (First Second).
The Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience goes to Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship, written by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, illustrated by Scott Magoon (Candlewick) in the category for young children (ages 0 to 10). One honor book for young children was named: The Remember Balloons, written by Jessie Oliveros and illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte (Simon). The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle, by Leslie Connor (Tegen/HarperCollins), is the winner of the middle grade award (ages 11-13). One honor book for middle grades was selected: The Collectors, written by Jacqueline West (Greenwillow). Anger Is a Gift, by Mark Oshiro (Tor Teen), is the winning book in the teen category (ages 13-18). One honor book for teens was named: (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health, edited by Kelly Jensen (Algonquin).
The Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, for children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender experience, was given respectively to Julián Is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love (Candlewick), and Hurricane Child, by Kheryn Callender (Scholastic). Two honor books were selected: Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, by Ashley Herring Blake (Little) and Picture Us in the Light, by Kelly Loy Gilbert (Hyperion).
The Children’s Literature Legacy Award for a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children goes to Walter Dean Myers.
The Odyssey Award for excellence in audiobook production goes to Sadie, produced by Macmillan Audio from Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press. The book is written by Courtney Summers and narrated by Rebecca Soler, Fred Berman, Dan Bittner, Gabra Zackman, and more. Four Odyssey Honor Recordings were selected: Du Iz Tak, produced by Weston Woods Studio, a division of Scholastic, written by Carson Ellis and narrated by Eli and Sebastian D’Amico, Burton, Galen and Laura Fott, Sarah Hart, Bella Higginbotham, Evelyn Hipp and Brian Hull; Esquivel!: Space-Age Sound Artist, produced by Live Oak Media, written by Susan Wood and narrated by Brian Amador; The Parker Inheritance, produced by Scholastic Audiobooks, written by Varian Johnson and narrated by Cherise Booth; and The Poet X, produced by HarperAudio, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, and written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo.
The 2020 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture will be delivered by author Neil Gaiman.
The Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults goes to M. T. Anderson.
The William C. Morris Award for a book written by a first-time author for teens goes to Darius the Great Is Not Okay, by Adib Khorram (Dial). Four additional books were shortlisted: Blood Water Paint, by Joy McCullough (Dutton); Check, Please!: #Hockey, written and illustrated by Ngozi Ukazu (First Second); Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (Holt); and What the Night Sings, written and illustrated by Vesper Stamper (Knopf).
The YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award goes to The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees, written and illustrated by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Four other books were shortlisted for the award: The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor, by Sonia Sotomayor (Delacorte); Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam, by Elizabeth Partridge (Viking); The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler, written and illustrated by John Hendrix (Amulet/Abrams); and Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction, written and illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Graphix/Scholastic).
The Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction goes to Finding Langston, by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Holiday House).
The Carnegie Medal was awarded to Geraldine McCaughrean for Where the World Ends (Usborne).
The Kate Greenaway Medal for distinguished illustration in a book for children was awarded to Town Is by the Sea, illustrated by Sydney Smith, written by Joanne Schwartz (Walker).
The 2019 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for outstanding nonfiction for children goes to Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery, written by Sandra Neil Wallace and illustrated by Bryan Collier (Simon). Honor books are: Champion: The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut Tree, written by Sally Walker (Holt); Pass Go and Collect $200: The Story of How Monopoly was Invented, written by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Stephen Salerno (Holt); The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art, written by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Claire Nivola (Candlewick); Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot’s World War II Story, written by Marc Tyler Nobleman and illustrated by Melissa Iwai (Clarion); and We are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, written by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Frané Lessac (Charlesbridge).
The winner of the inaugural GLLI Translated YA Book Prize is My Brother’s Husband: Vol. 1 & 2 by Gengoroh Tagame, translated from the Japanese by Anne Ishii (Pantheon).
The Center for Children’s Books’ 2019 Gryphon Award goes to Baby Monkey, Private Eye, written by Brian Selznick and David Serlin and illustrated by Brian Selznick (Scholastic). Two honor books were named: Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea, written and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow); and Dear Substitute, written by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick and illustrated by Chris Raschka (Disney Hyperion).
